From Brad Buck, Director, Iowa Department of Education
IowaCore.gov is for educators, parents and other stakeholders to better understand, access and deliver the Iowa Core standards. For the education community, this website is the centerpiece of what’s called the Iowa Core Resources Project. This project is about providing the concrete tools and resources that teachers need to put the Iowa Core into practice. Teachers and school administrators have been asking for this information, and we are now in a position to provide them.
The Iowa Core Resources Project was made possible with a $1 million state appropriation approved by Iowa legislators in 2013. This funding was used to develop a new Iowa Core website and to secure examples of optional instructional resources that teachers can use, if they so choose, to implement the Iowa Core in kindergarten through 12th grade. More than 8,000 resources are available at no charge in a central, searchable online location called IowaLearns.org, which is accessible through IowaCore.gov. The materials are adaptable to fit the individual needs of local classrooms.
The new Iowa Core website also provides much more information about the standards to parents and other Iowans. The Explore the Core section provides the standards in a user-friendly format that is searchable by grade level and subject. The parent guides found under the Parents & Community section provide an overview of the Iowa Core standards, examples of what students are expected to know and be able to do and activities that can be done at home to support this learning. The math and English language arts portions of the parent guides were completed in partnership with the National PTA, while the science, social studies and 21st century skills portions were developed by Iowa teachers.
Please take some time to become familiar with the website and help us tell Iowans about this great new resource that will support Iowa Core implementation. The Iowa Department of Education will continue to improve and expand the new website. You can help us by filling out a feedback form found under the "Contact Us" section of IowaCore.gov. Questions about the website project can be directed to Brad Niebling at brad.niebling@iowa.gov.
Toolkit
From Brad Buck
As described in my announcement of IowaCore.gov to the field, the resource toolkit is designed to assist school administrators and other instructional staff in discussing the new website. Because we also understand you may be fielding questions about the Iowa Core in your communities, I’m including a set of talking points that may be customized to fit your individual needs, as well as a fact sheet and FAQ that may be distributed as handouts or posted online if you see fit.
The website communications toolkit includes the following elements in a single document that you can easily forward to other stakeholders:
- Website talking points
- Sample text that may be customized for use in education newsletters or on websites
- Sample letters that may be customized for use and distributed to teachers, parents/families, and school board members
- Sample tweets
Access to Resources
You will be asked for a username/password to access some of the IowaLearns resources available through IowaCore.gov. The username/password combinations that are used to access AEA online resources are being used, with a slight modification.
Go to IowaCore.gov.
Click Educator Resources tab.
You’ll notice the IowaLearns section. Many of the resources are available through Guest access. Others require a username/password. Staff will use the school online database username/password used for our AEA online resources (Learn 360, EBSCO, Gale, etc.) BUT the prefix “dr” must be added to the beginning of the password (dr stands for digital resource). Ask your teacher librarian for your school’s username/password combination.
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